Iron Workshirt product feature: Today we present the LUDWIG VAN “Iron Workshirt”. This is a limited run of re-worked and re-fashioned US Air-force issue button downs. We re-fashioned the fit to feature a curved silhouette for a better fit and an enzyme wash for better hand, then we applied an over-dyed steel blue color. This shirt also features a vintage Pendleton flannel pocket flap on the front (every piece features a uniquely different color) so each piece is essentially a one-of-a-kind! In authentic LUDWIG VAN fashion we are taking something from the past and re-purposing it to make it something for the future. A timeless piece. There are a few pieces of the “Iron Workshirt” left in the LUDWIG SHOP – get yours before they are all gone!

LUDWIG VAN x VANS Vault “Deadstock Canvas Project” – To celebrate 420, I’m dropping this extremely rare pair of “Mary Jane” printed shoes at 4:20 PST here at the LUDWIG VAN SHOP. Yes, they are expensive, ($420.00) but they are also very rare. This is ONE of ONLY FIVE pairs in existence, period. So this is strictly for the real collectors. Lil’ Waynes publicists contacted us to secure a pair of these particular shoes and their request was DENIED. I believe in letting the real fans/collectors have first right of refusal. Side note: there will be a handful of pairs (about 9 in total) for sale at the LUDWIG VAN shop on 5/1/10, and they will come with a special shoe-bag and t-shirt that was not released with this collection. These will be priced modestly at $125.00 per pair. We will not ship overseas and orders are limited to one per person only. Happy 420!

I have recently received a number of orders for the LUDWIG VAN “Clockwork” screen-print. I decided to give a little run-down of how this process went from the idea to the finished product. I started with the idea to re-mix the LUDWIG “head” logo and update the look/feel of it to give it a little more drama. The first part was the sketch.

I usually work a rough in my book, then do a few tweaks and changes with overlay paper to create one final comp that I’m happy with. Next I could either do an inking by hand and scan this in to computer OR (in this case) scan in the sketch and draw over it in Illustrator.

Either way, once the art gets into the digital realm you have to clean up and rework many areas to get it just right…using the “Live Trace” option in Illustrator is the cheap mans way and yields cheap results. As shown here, the details of thick to thin, and line-weights can not be made using a click of the mouse.

From here you can either bring in to Photoshop and start to render over it to create an entirely new piece of work (as I started to do here). OR…

You can go ahead and make the screenprinted poster straight away using the finalized clean vector art…actually you can make it from the final inking as well, but since i wanted to use this art for multiple purposes it had to be perfect digital form. There are only a handful of these prints left (#’s 2 thru 11 of the signed and numbered 35) still available here. Pick one up, they make a wall look really nice!

We’ve been hearing a lot about “business as usual”. Nothing usual about this business I can tell you that. Thanks to the LUDWIG VAN fans for your loyal following, you can take comfort in knowing that when you show up to that event, party, social gathering – or just relaxing on the week-end, you’ll be wearing something unique that most likely nobody else is hip to, and that’s just the way we intend it to be.

It was a tremendous evening at the LUDWIG VAN x Vault by VANS “Deadstock Canvas Project” this week and I wanted to share a few photos with you. Big thanks to Julian and The Worst Kids for the photos as well as Mr. Omae…the complete set is HERE. Thanks to all for the support and for showing up. The shoes at Conveyor are all gone! – until next time.